Saint Kabir

Updated | September 3, 2017 17:59 IST

Saint Kabir, Kabir Das was born to a widow in Banaras(Varanasi) in late 14th Century. He was abandoned by his mother soon after birth. Neeru, a Muslim weaver, and his wife Neema adopted him and brought him up.

Growing up in Banaras, he became familiar with the religious ideas of both Hindus and Muslims. He followed the profession of his adoptive parents as a weaver but took a deep interest in religion, gathered a band of disciples and started preaching his doctrine that rejected the rigid and fundamentalist views of both Hindus and Muslims.

Kabir maintained that God was not to be found in the mosque or temple but God was within the hearts of all human beings. He expressed his ideas in the form of couplets or dohas which have remained very popular.

The teachings of Saint Kabir:

1. God of all religions was one and the same and could be addressed by any name like Rama, Krishna or Allah.

2. Single minded devotion to God rather than rituals, ceremonies, idol worship or pilgrimage was the way to attain salvation.

3. The purity of conduct was to be cultivated as a discipline. He decried attachment to worldly goods and pursuits especially among sadhus, faqirs, and mahants who headed religious institutions that flourished on the donations offered by the devotees.

4. Kabir practiced nada-yoga(yoga of listening to the sound within) as the discipline that would lead to the ultimate goal.

5. All human beings were equal in the eyes of Almighty and there was no basis for distinction of caste, class or creed. His followers who were drawn from different faiths and castes became one single community known as Kabirpanthis. Large numbers of weaver communities are till date followers of this faith.

Kabir’s teachings are recorded in Bijak(the seed book). There was no exact date of Kabir’ arrival and departure from this world. Some historians said that Kabir was lived in the period of 1338-1448 whereas some 1440-1518.